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7/23/14

Morning Report – July 23rd – Shohei Otani, Mets Pitching ETAs, Colon


                                                                                                                                            
Coming Later Today –    

10 00 am - Reese KaplanThe Mets' OTHER Black Hole

12 noon - Stephen Guilbert- "Shortstoptions- Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor: The Unattainable" 

2 00 pm - Baseball America - Highest Draft Bonuses of All-Time

4 00 pm - 2015 Draft Profile - OF - Daz Cameron - Eagle's Landing (GA) HS - UPDATED -  7-9-14


Christopher Soto –

            In his first 19 games with the Savannah Sand Gnats, Dominic Smith hit .167 with 0 extra-base hits. However, since April 25, he has slashed .330/.388/.405 with 21 doubles and a VERY STRONG 8.7% BB rate and an equally strong 15.2% K rate. During that time he ranks 9th in the SAL in average and 7th in doubles.



This is a very important story to read this morning... http://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-sp-dodgers-20140723-story.html 
The Dodgers had a dreadful series against Pittsburgh and there never has been a better time to approach this team for a trade of one or two of your young pitchers for the services of  OF Joc Peterson.... SANDY... PLEASE READ THIS...


Jeremy Hefner pitched three more rehab innings for the GCL Mets... 1-R, 2-H, 1-K, 0-BB


Jason A. Churchill ‏@ProspectInsider  -

Just talked to a front office exec who thinks MLB-wide there will be more than a few 'major' deals between now and the July 31 deadline. Same exec believes there are a few desperate SELLERS. If I had speculate, Philly is 1 of the aggressive sellers. Arizona, San Diego, Colorado are three other possibilities.



Read about  21/yr old P/OF  Shohei Otani of the Nippon Ham Fighters in the Nippon Professional Baseball league



I follow Twitter most of the day looking for things to write about and this is the time of the year that many baseball people report that the stands are filled with scouts.

Like this…

Jerry Crasnick ‏@jcrasnick  -  #Tigers, #bluejays, #orioles,  #brewers, #angels,   #royals, #sfgiants. #Rangers, #dbacks and #pirates have scouts in Philly tonight.

The question is… how come I never see or hear of any Mets scouts going anywhere? Are they all having pizza together in Ozone Park? Not having your scouts in the field either means you’re not looking at obtaining the services of anyone or no other teams is offering the services of someone to you to take a look at.

Like I said, no scouts in the stands, no deals in the news.



Next week is the trading week, so we all need to remind ourselves exactly how the pitching stacks up as of today.

You’re Sandy Alderson and teams want pitching:

           Current rotation:  Colon, Wheeler, Niese, Gee, deGrom
           Starter in reserve in bullpen:       Matsuzaka
           2015 ETA:     Harvey, Syndergaard, Montero
           2016 ETA:     Matz, Ynoa
           2017 ETA:     Fuller, Gsellman, Gant

There is plenty of room here to sell. Colon and Matsuzaka will not set the ‘win now’ brigade on fire, while selling two future chips like Syndergaard and Montero wouldn’t destroy the nucleus of a damn good rotation. There is plenty of excess pitching talent here to go get yourself the middle of the lineup bat you need to firm up the lineup.

14 quality starters.


BNS on Colon –

Colon was signed to a two-year deal worth $20 million this offseason. The 41 year-old right-hander owns an ERA that is nearly 1.5 runs higher, but his strikeout rate has increased from 15.2 percent to 18.0 percent, while his walk rate has dropped from 3.8 percent to 3.4 percent. His park-adjusted xFIP is 100, exactly the same as last season. For the most part, Colon has been the same pitcher, though Citi Field isn’t quite as spacious as the Coliseum. He throws his 89-90 mile per hour fastball over 80 percent of the time, and occasionally mixes in a slider or changeup. Colon won’t miss many bats, but walks are few and far between. Last year’s 2.65 ERA was an anomaly, but Colon is a pretty dependable No. 3 or No. 4 starting pitcher. That’s something the Mets don’t really need, as they aren’t in contention this year, and have a host of young starting pitchers that could be ready by next year.


Sports Illustrated on Mets –

Sellers - Trading All-Star Daniel Murphy (.289/.336/.410) is probably too radical, though general manager Sandy Alderson would do well to consider the move, given the combination of Murphy's remaining year of arbitration eligibility and the widespread need among contenders for a second base solution. More likely, Bartolo Colon (4.12 ERA, 3.58 FIP) will be on the go, Daisuke Matsuzaka (3.55 ERA) could even find a taker, and the team will give up an underachieving Young outfielder (Eric or Chris) to the first person who even dares to ask. http://www.si.com/mlb/2014/07/21/national-league-buyers-and-sellers-trade-deadline


Minor Moves –


            The GCL Mets 20-yr old Venezuelan LHP Leon Canelon was one of those 16-yr old bonus babies signed on July 8, 2010, the same day they signed OF Vincente Lupo. He has steadily worked his way up the DSL team (2011: 11-G, 1-ST, 7.08 - 2012: 14-ST, 2.96 – 2013: 14-ST, 2.86) and now started off this season in the GCL pen (5-G, 8.2-IP, 9-K, 2.08). Monday brought his first start of the season and, though it was short, it was impressive: 3.0-IP, 0-H, 0-R, 4-K, 0-BB, 1.54… Savannah RHP Chris Flexen had bone chips removed from his elbow and Tommy John surgery… C Taylor Teagarden is now rehabbing in AAA-Las Vegas and the Mets have until the end of July to decide what to do with him. He’s obviously not needed in Nevada what with Juan Centeno and Kevin Plawecki already fighting it out for at-bats… The B-Mets Dilson Herrera has hit safely in 20 of his last 21 games… and there's nothing wrong with finding out right before you are going to bed that Vegas SP Noah Syndergaard threw up a killer 6.1 innings tonight...

19 comments:

  1. Hey Mack,
    14 starters you list - and as I know that you know, beyond those 14 there are even more real viable future major league starters a little further away, like Whelan and Molina, who could be there as early as 2017, if not 2018. And even Hefner and Mateo (although he may be being steered towards the pen) could push back into that list of starters. S omy guess is extending that list out a year or two and the # is more like 20. Which is pretty incredible. Plenty to go to market with, if they decide to shop for a Joc Peterson.

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  2. The Dodgers will not want a prospect that will they will need to shut down during a pennant race or the playoffs. Montero missed time so he may have the innings left but if I were the Dodgers I wouldn't take Montero for Peterson.
    The Dodgers do have one of the best top 3 starters in baseball. Their 4 and 5 have been pretty good. Maybe they will need someone but maybe they wont. They also have Zach Lee in their own system. They do need bullpen help but Peterson isn't going anywhere for bullpen help.
    I do think the Dodgers would part with Peterson for someone like Price. Someone with playoff experience who would be a significant upgrade to their rotation. I don't think the Mets have anyone that fits. Gee might be a significant upgrade to Haran or Beckett if he doesn't bounce back but would he be enough for the Dodgers? If I were the Mets I wouldn't offer Gee for Peterson alone but the Dodgers seem to be asking more.
    I could see the Dodgers taking Dice K to help with the bullpen and to be a backup plan for the back end of the rotation but the Mets would have to settle for a lot less than Peterson.
    Maybe a larger deal including someone like Plawecki could help get it done.

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  3. Being buyers right now doesn't suit the Mets. They need major bats and they don't look to be on the market right now.

    I also wouldn't go into full sell mode, just move Colon and Murphy, call up Thor and Flores. If the Mets can get a top hitting prospect and a good pitching prospect, it just adds to our offseason ammunition.

    Getting Pederson would be a great move, but I'm not so sure I'd hold onto him with Nimmo's progression and the drafting of Conforto. Pederson is the type of prospect that can anchor a deal for a major bat.

    Without being too specific, if the Mets were able to come away from the deadline with Pederson and a pitching prospect (SPa), their treasure chest would look like:

    Pederson
    SPa
    Montero
    Plawecki
    Gee
    deGrom

    Maybe: Cecchini, Smith, Herrera

    That's plenty of talent to piece together for at least one bat , if not two.

    It all depends on who wants Colon and Murphy and what they'll give up. Now is the time for Sandy to add bullets to the gun.

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  4. I think you have to really, really consider trading Murphy, particularly if a team desperate for some 2B production like the Giants is willing to overpay at the deadline. I have a feeling that the Wilpons will balk because they'll fear that doing so will kill attendance for the rest of this season. But aside from pitching (where there really is no such thing as a surplus) second base is this organization's real position of strength and depth.

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    Replies
    1. I agree, DM is not going to get the long term deal with the Mets, too many internal replacement options, esp Herrara who has taken major leaps forward at the young age of 20. if everyone is convinced that Flores bat will play at the ML level, then they should replace DM right now with him. he would likely match (if not exceed) his offensive production and would be a defensive push. could substantially increase WF trade value after next year when Herrara is scheduled to arrive.

      on a separate note, I went to a Rockies blog last night out of curiosity and found two things very interesting: the fan base is totally fed up with Tulo's inability to stay healthy; shocked how down they are on him, but more importantly I think that there is a fan base that hates their owner more than the Mets. huge amount of comments ripping ownership for not moving Tulo before he ultimately ended up on DL; he has not played more than 150 games in 5 years and there were quotes from Tulo saying that he understands that since his quad tear in 2009 that he will never play a full season. that is beyond concerning when the player himself declares that he will go to DL every year. never heard of such a thing

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    2. I'd still take him, that info could reduce his price from some of the astronomical offers being bandied about.

      Delete
  5. I don't think dealing Murph will hurt attendance that much. There will be some wailing and gnashing of teeth but if we can get a top prospect you have to do it and weather the negative backlash for a few days. With the way Flores is hitting, bring him up to play 2B and leave him there the rest of the season. He just might up his own trade value for the offseason as well.

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  6. Flores, Reynolds or Muno could play 2nd if Murphy is traded. Do it, and recall Flores, or trade him. he is over-ripe.
    I plan to (among other topics) spotlight Danny a little bit more on Sunday, in case you think he is a non-consideration. So tune in on Sunday!

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  7. Happy to see I'm no longer one of the few calling for DeGrom to be a Rookie of the Year candidate. He looked terrific last night. He just mowed them down except for the one inning. He keeps pitching like this I dont think he can lose.

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  8. I would dangle Murphy and Gee to the Giants, and then the Dodgers will swoop in and have to give up a good package to keep them away from their rivals. Maybe we can get a package of Pedersen and Seager for them and if u have to put Plaweki in the deal to make it happen, I would do that as well. Murphy can play 3rd base for them?

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  9. Anonymous -

    Re: Colorado bloggers...

    I have a story in the morning that includes some info I got from one of my Colorado sources about the Mets possibly trying to put together a deal for a certain Rockies outfielder...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not sure how I feel about that.

      If we're shooting for an OF, I'd save my assets for a huge shot at Stanton in the offseason.

      We already have 2 LH OF who should be in the majors soon enough.

      Delete
    2. Plus, he's having a really down year. I don't think CarGo is the answer at this point.

      Delete
  10. Re: Murphy and Herrera

    I love this kind of depth and would hate to see us over react in a bad year.

    2014 is not the year of the Met. I would hope that Murphy survives the next couple of weeks.

    Everything that comes out of Herrera's mouth says that his plans are to be a SS when he makes it to Queens. It will be interesting to see what plans the Mets have for him in the off-season

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  11. The Dodgers aren't going to trade Pederson and Seager for Price. Why would they do that for Murphy, Gee and Plawecki?

    The Dodgers know what they have in Pederson. He's a young, left-handed, major league ready, CF who hits for average and power and steals bases (24 to date). He's a stud/future star and everyone around the league knows it and wants him. If I was in charge of the Dodgers, I'd be starting Puig, Pederson and Kemp. Crawford and Ethier are done. Crawford has an OBP below .300 and Either is at .310. There is no future for these guys. The Dodgers should be contenders for several years behind Kershaw & Grienke. They would be major threats if they could land Price too but do they really need him at the cost of Pederson +?

    Same can be said for Seager. Future stud shortstops don't grow on trees, as we are well aware. They have 2 of the rarest commodities right now in the game.

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    Replies
    1. I didn't look at today's standings but I believe the dodgers and giants are pretty close. If the giants were getting Murphy and Gee, you don't think the dodgers would pony up Pedersen to keep them away from the giants? I believe a Seager for Plaweki deal are very similar ranked players and both in AA. Do I think it could work.
      I for one couldn't believe how much we got for an older knuckleball pitcher a couple of years ago.

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  12. it doesn't matter what someone is worth if the team that is trading you desperately needs something to get to the playoffs this year.

    the Dodgers need another starter and middle relief

    Wheeler and Familia would get you Peterson (I wouldn't do it.. I would only go as far as Gee or deGrom and Familia)

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  13. I still can't believe the Dickey trade. Teams do foolish things sometimes when they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe the Dodgers would deal Pederson or Seager. I just think that they are two of the most promising prospects in the game at premium positions. It would be difficult for me to deal either of them unless it was for a bonafide star instead of 2 solid ballplayers.

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  14. The market is usually dictated by the acquiring team's desperation/desire to win now and the dealing team's ability to stick to its guns.

    Relative value of the prospects involved is always secondary. The dodgers wouldn't be trading Pederson for Murphy or deGrom or Colon or Familia or whoever. They'd be dealing him to win the 2014 WS. If they believe the Mets' players will put them over, they'll pull the trigger.

    It's the instant gratification mentality vs. the long- term methodical approach. Things change in baseball year to year and sometimes that plays with contenders heads - "if we have a chance we have to go for it"

    We heard for weeks that Beltran was going to bring back 2 B level prospects at best and we wound up with SF's best pitching prospect. Pittsburgh was so desperate they handed over a future closer and a potential starting middle infielder for a month of Byrd in a flukey year and J.S. with Buck.

    I hope Sandy holds out for the BEST prospects he can get and asks for the moon.

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